Today In History

Today is Friday, May 20, the 140th day of 2022. There are 225 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

› 1862: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which was intended to encourage settlements west of the Mississippi River by making federal land available for farming.

ON THIS DATE:

› 1916: The Saturday Evening Post published its first Norman Rockwell cover; the illustration shows a scowling boy dressed in his Sunday best, dutifully pushing a baby carriage past a couple of boys wearing baseball uniforms.

› 1927: Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.

› 1932: Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Because of weather and equipment problems, Earhart set down in Northern Ireland instead of her intended destination, France.)

› 1959: Nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans had their U.S. citizenships restored after choosing to renounce them during World War II.

› 1961: A white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama, prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor-author James McEachin is 92. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 86. Actor David Proval is

80. Singer-actor Cher is 76. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 74. Rock musician Warren Cann is 72. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is 71. Former New York Gov. David Paterson is 68. Delaware Gov. John Carney is 66. Actor Dean Butler is 66. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan is 64. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s) is 64. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 63. Singer Susan Cowsill is

63. Actor John Billingsley is 62. Actor Tony Goldwyn is 62. Singer Nick Heyward is 61. TV personality Ted Allen is 57. Actor Mindy Cohn is 56. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly) is 56. Actor Gina Ravera is 56. Actor Timothy Olyphant is 54. Rapper Busta Rhymes is

50. Actor Daya Vaidya is

49. Actor Matt Czuchry is

45. Actor Angela Goethals is 45. Actor-singer Naturi Naughton is 38. Country singer Jon Pardi is 37.